A Road Trip Fantasy

Jennifer shook her head and her arm into mine. "Lead away Chef Ramsey."

"I'll have to make you another dish too." I looked at Jen contemplating what she might like. "Short rib supper keeps well. It's good the first day but ages really well. I should be able remember the recipe. After the garlic, back to the meat department," I told Jen.

An hour or so after getting back to her apartment, the light smells of the lemon and garlic from the chicken in the oven mingled with the warmer earthy tones of the short ribs bubbling on the stovetop. "Okay," Jennifer admitted. "That does smell really good. I am impressed." We had worked together in the little kitchen chopping up ingredients, sautéing and combining it all.

"It's not that hard. You saw. It takes a little practice, but I really mostly just follow the recipes. After I make it a few times, I start to tweak it some, but not much. I'll have to get you the cookbook I use." I gave the short ribs a stir before covering the pan. "Now, I am told my pie crusts are excellent, extra flakey. Cathy's mom used to rave about my pie crusts."

Jennifer was busy washing up the dishes in the sink since she did not have many extra to go around. I kept an eye on the short ribs cooking in their sauce on the stove. The rice cooker I had dragged Jen back to Target for was steaming and popping in the corner.

"Do you miss her?" Jen asked.

"My ex-mother-in-law? Not in the least. The only thing she liked about me was my piecrust. She made that very clear."

"Do you miss Cathy? That's twice today you've mentioned her."

I turned Jennifer around to face me. "I feel like I'm setting up house here with you. It's like we moved in together hauling all your stuff upstairs, arranging everything, and then all the shopping to finish furnishing the place. The last time I did that was with Cathy. That and I am with another woman who apparently is not that much into cooking." I gave her a lopsided smile. "It triggers memories. At least you helped out more than she tended to."

I kissed Jen. "I have you now, and in twenty-four hours, you are going to be the one I am missing." We regarded each other. "Do you miss your ex?"

"No," Jen recoiled at the thought. "Not after everything he did."

"And I don't miss my ex either," I said.

Jen opened her mouth as if to protest but then closed it again. She nodded. "You're right. I can't change your past, and you can't change mine."

"And if I hadn't married Cathy, I never would have moved to San Diego," I said. "I probably would have gone to the Bay Area or Portland or Seattle, and you and I would never have met."

Jen nodded with a smile and followed the theme. "And if Roger hadn't cheated on me, I'd still be with him, and not with you."

"And maybe we never would have gotten to know what real love can be like," I finished.

"Or real lust," Jennifer said with a wink.

"That too, but also love," I agreed. "By the way, Roger? That's the first time you've mentioned his name."

"And the last."

*****

We made love again on the futon that last night together. I was on top rocking against her pelvis with long slow strokes, enjoying the sensation of our bodies locked together. Her breasts were pressed tight against me, her arms holding me tight. My face was buried in her hair, and I was kissing her neck. When I pushed up onto my arms, I saw tears running down her cheeks. I stopped and moved to climb off of her. "Jen, what's wrong?"

Jennifer grabbed my hips tightly. "No, don't stop. I'm okay." The tears continued to run from her eyes but her hands and legs urged me on.

I bent down and began kissing salty tears from her cheeks. "It's okay, Jennifer. I love you."

"I know," she said through tears. "I love you too, Aaron. That's what makes it hard. Just make love to me."

I did. She held me tight to her, and we went over the edge together or nearly so.

When our orgasms had past and our breathing had begun to slow, I again went to move off of her, but Jennifer still held me tight. "Don't. I want to have you in me and hold you as long as possible."

"Okay," I whispered back. I propped myself on my elbows above Jen so our chests still touched and our lower halves stayed locked together. I covered her face in kisses to wash away all the tears. My penis was no longer erect but since we did not move, I remained just inside of her. Eventually, she fell asleep like that.

*****

Sunday. Our final day together. We had just finished washing up the dishes after lunch and retired to the futon, now back in couch mode. We just sat together, my arm around her to pull her to me, our heads touching. It was too cold outside for a walk, and we seemed to need to just enjoy our last few hours alone from the world outside.

"So what happens now, Aaron?" We were both staring out the glass doors and the bare trees and the clouds.

"What do you want to happen now?"

"To have this day never end. For your plane to never arrive. For tomorrow to never come."

I breathed in the scent of her hair and kissed her head. "I'd like that too."

"But that's not going to happen." She pulled away enough to look at me. "So what happens now?" There was a worry on her face, an uncertainty that I had not seen since that morning in Utah. She looked away again.

I turned to face her. "Jen, look at me." She did but the worry seemed stronger. "I love you," I told her. "I want you in my life. You can kick me out the door right now and tell me never to come back, and I'll leave, but I won't give up. You can even show up in San Diego married to some Nebraskan cowboy and pregnant, and I still won't give up hope, because I know, hey not all marriages last."

I smiled at her, and she returned the smile. I took her hands in mine. "What I think we should do is keep this up. I may fly out today, but we'll talk, we'll call, we'll text, e-mail, FaceTime, whatever. We'll see each other when you're on breaks, and if you've got a free weekend, I'll fly out here to see you. We'll make it work. You're only here thirteen months. That's nothing. And on graduation day, I'll be here to cheer for you and load up that U-Haul and drive you back home. And all that time, I'll be faithful to you. I'll never cheat on you or two-time you. I'll never look at another woman because all I can think about is you."

Jennifer was nodding at me and smiling with relief in her eyes. "Plus I'll make sure Emily and Rose and Theresa keep an eye on you." She poked me in the chest for emphasis.

I was not deterred by her acquiescence though. "And, Jen, if that's not enough for you, I'll go find the closest jewelry store and be back in thirty minutes, and I'll get down on my knees and ask you to marry me for real. I'll quit my job and move out here because someone in Nebraska must need a pediatrician. If that's what you need, if that's what it takes to be with you, I'll do it."

"Stop," Jennifer said. Tears were brimming in her eyes. "I hate it when you do that, and I love it when you do that."

"What?"

"Know just what I'm thinking and saying just what I want you to say." Jennifer encircled me in her arms. "Don't go to the jewelry store yet, but thank you for saying it."

"You tell me when, and I will," I whispered into her ear.

"I promise," she said. "But let's just stick with option two for now."

*****

On a late Sunday afternoon, Omaha's airport was not the busiest airport I had waited in. Just outside the security checkpoint, Jennifer and I stood facing each other, holding onto each other, foreheads touching. "You're going to be a great nurse, you know that," I told her.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're too smart and too ambitious to just be an MA in a little pediatric office. I know you're going to do great things. And I'm going to be around to see them happen."

Jennifer smiled at me. "You better be. I'm counting on you."

We kissed.

"Thank you for driving me out," Jennifer said. "Thank you for getting up the courage to ask me out. These last four days have been fantastic. I wouldn't trade them for anything. This was supposed to be hard, but you've made it an adventure."

"I wouldn't change the last two weeks for anything," I said.

"Thirteen months will fly by."

"They will."

"And then I'll come back to San Diego."

"If you don't, then I'm coming after you."

"That might be kind of fun." She laughed and flashed me those wicked eyes.

I kissed her again. "You know it will be."

"When will you come back to visit beautiful Omaha?"

"Just tell me when you're free, and I'll be here."

"I'll call you tomorrow night after they give out the schedules. I think you better go though. They just called your flight."

We pulled each other tight and kissed long and deep trying to convey all the passion and love and loss that was in our hearts in that moment.

"I love you, Aaron."

"I love you too, Jennifer."

I walked backwards most of the way through security just to drink all of her in one last time. She waved and smiled to me and if there were tears in those brown eyes, she kept them hidden until I was lost in the crowds heading for the gates.

I was standing in line to board the plane when my phone trilled. The text from Jennifer was just a picture of me in the security line around which she had drawn a heart. Another trill. Me singing Rachel Platten, Better Place, to you.

I thought a moment. I texted: Me singing Guns N' Roses, Patience to you.

Jennifer: I love you. Call me when you land even if it's late.

Me: I love you too. I'll call as soon as wheels touch the ground.

I did.